Hi Listmembers: It sure is a dreary day in Indiana. Seems like the type of day for running some roll calls to get some data on this mailing list! For the new members, a roll call is simply a request for everyone to get their queries on the list for the best possible results. In doing this please remember a few items and guidelines. PLEASE DO NOT JUST HIT REPLY AND SEND THE POSTING TO ME...SEND IT TO THE LIST. Let's begin this roll call right now on Monday January 29th 2001 and run it until next Monday night at midnight February 5th 2001. To make your query work harder for you... keep in mind the old rules of news reporting and include as many of the following as possible: SUBJECT FIELD: To get the most from your query and make your query command attention, place the SURNAME, LOCATION, YEAR in the subject field. Remember ! ! ! ! Many subscribers belong to multiple mailing lists; therefore, many go through their mail looking at subject fields... only reading those that have descriptive subject names. Unfortunately, messages entitled "Question", "Help", "IMPORTANT!", "My Family", "My Line", "My Grandfather", etc., are deleted without ever being opened. WHO: State the names of people as completely as you can. WHAT: Try to limit your query to one or two specific questions or bits of information. Post other queries with additional questions rather than load all your questions into one query. In this way, each of your questions will stand out and get attention. WHEN: Dates are important, if you don't know the day, month and year try to put in a period (1790s, late 1800s etc.) WHERE: Mention the location of events (birth, marriage, death, etc.) in the body of the query. Include their migration path if you can. WHY: Why are you searching for this(these) individual(s)? Describe your connection to him/her. HOW: How your query appears will often get subscriber's attention. Check spelling, grammar and format. REPETITION: Once you have an acceptable looking query, save it and update it as necessary. Use it again bi-weekly to touch base with new members. Also, you may use it on web sites that accepts queries. REMEMBER: Your goal is to get information. A list server (discussion group), such as this, is an excellent forum for helping you get that information. Make your query work! By following these recommendations, your query stands a better chance of being read and you may make that great contact that you need. GOOD QUERIES CONNECT... CAUTION... You may wish to consider withholding personal data on living descendants. Because, at the moment, once your message has been archived on RootsWeb, neither the data within nor the message can be removed from the archives. ALWAYS: Be sure to thank the person(s) who answer your queries, whether or not their answers have any usable info or not. Remember, they might not have any info now, but just might obtain some, and be reluctant to send to an ungrateful person. TRY: To answer as many queries as you may be able to. In this I mean ones that you have info for. NOT just to say "I don't know anything". Also make certain that if your answer doesn't apply to more then a couple persons, please send it privately and not to the group. Many of our lists are set to reply to the group, so check the address before sending. Debbie Jennings debbiej@iquest.net "Following the footprints through time" Researching in IN,KY,TN,NC,PA,NJ,VT,NY,MA,MD, VA,CAN,GER,ENG